Providing Active Fire Data for Near-Real Time Monitoring and ApplicationsThe Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) distributes Near Real-Time (NRT) active fire data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites, and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard S-NPP, NOAA 20 and NOAA 21 (formally known as JPSS-...

The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) is a research project that was initiated in 1980. It is a response to a perceived need for policy relevant data that would allow policy makers to move beyond simply measuring rates of unemployment, poverty and health care use, for example, to understanding the determinants of these observed social sector outcomes.The program is designed to assist polic...

This report summarizes what has been learned until now from CCAC’s work on open burning in the Andes and Himalayan cryosphere zones through an 18-month project scoping the scale of the problem in these two regions: the “what, who, when, where and why” of open burning there; identifies the major alternatives applicable to each region; and suggests some low-hanging fruit “catalyst” projects to begin...

Global outdoor biomass burning is a major contributor to air pollution, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Recent years have witnessed substantial changes in the extent of biomass burning, including large declines in Africa. However, direct evidence of the contribution of biomass burning to global health outcomes remains limited. Here, we use georeferenced data on more than 2 million ...

Authors examine the impact of exposure to biomass burning events (primarily crop burning) on the prevalence of hypertension in four North Indian states. They use data from the National Family Health Survey-IV for 2015-16 and employ a multivariate logistic and linear model to estimate the effect of exposure to biomass burning on the prevalence of hypertension and blood pressure, respectively. The a...

Did you know that nearly 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 in East Asia and the Pacific was linked to air pollution in 2021? Children in all countries in East Asia and the Pacific are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution that poses a critical threat to their health and well-being. This advocacy brief sheds light on the alarming impact of poor air quality on the region's youngest population...

Solar energy, with its declining costs and enhanced efficiency, is a viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels. However, its effectiveness is compromised by atmospheric and meteorological conditions, particularly air pollution, which reduces solar radiation and panel efficiency. This study estimates the impact of air pollution on solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation in South Korea, a rapi...

This study delves the trends of sunshine reaching the earth surface, both temporally and spatially, across nine geographically diverse regions including 20 stations in India, spanning the years 1988 to 2018. The monthly sunshine hours (SSH) analysis concluded significant increment from October to May followed by significant drops from June to July in six regions, except northern inland and Himalay...

In the context of degradation of soil health, environmental pollution, and yield stagnation in the rice–wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, an experiment was established in split plot design to assess the long-term effect of crop residue management on productivity and phosphorus requirement of wheat in rice–wheat system. The experiment comprised of six crop residue management p...

Crop residue burning, a common agricultural practice in wheat cultivation, has significant implications for soil health, nutrient cycling, and microbial communities. This study evaluates the effects of residue burning on soil physicochemical properties, microbial populations, and CO2 emissions in wheat fields across Wazha village and Sitak, Sulaymaniyah Province, Kurdistan, Iraq. Post-burning anal...